Disturbing yet enthralling

Best movie ever!

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The unassailable reputation of this legendary TV special prompted me to acquire it regardless of the fact that I have little more than a passing interest in its subject; actually, a conversation I had on "Facebook" with the top local Elvis fan I know on the day that would have been "The King"'s 76th birthday is what made me watch it immediately! Although the IMDb gives the show a slim 50-minute duration, the copy I acquired ran for around 73 and, indeed, looking up some information on it after the fact, I realized that there are several versions available out there, culminating in the exhaustive 7½-hour "Deluxe Edition" released in 2004 spread over 3 DVDs! Presley's fans must have drawn a great sigh of relief watching their idol get back to his true métier of performing live in front of swooning audiences; what really impresses the 'infidels', however, is the sheer energy and magnetism that a totally black-clad Elvis is able to transmit in this up-close-and-personal/back-to-basics rendition of his decade old classic hits that, surely, must have been the precursor to the "MTV Unplugged" fad that proliferated a quarter-of-a-century later. And so it is that we have Presley belting out full-length or medley versions of "All Shook Up", "Don't Be Cruel", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Jailhouse Rock", "That's All Right" and even a tongue-in-cheek "Love Me Tender"(!) – performed either while barely containing himself in a chair (and accompanied by a handful of seasoned musicians) or standing up with guitar in hand as he interacts with the fans sitting literally at arm's length away from him! In spite of the stripped-down nature of the songs themselves, the show was captured on camera for posterity in as slick and flashy a manner as was possible at the time; in fact, we have here any number of suggestive camera angles and cleverly worked-out shots which, in their evident attempt to highlight the older but perfectly matured figure of its 33-year old star (a far cry from the bloated, all-white image of his later Las Vegas days), are par for the course. However, it was hard for me to accept the incongruity of a couple of truly elaborate musical numbers which, for all their intrinsically enjoyable kitsch elements (not the least of which is seeing Elvis felling his foes with karate chops!), reeked of the blandly exotic Hollywood musical vehicles that one hoped Presley wanted to fully leave behind with this startling image revamp and, basically, only served to stretch the show to feature-length standards. At any rate, his acclaimed album "From Elvis In Memphis" (which I have yet to listen to) was just around the corner...

The first time I saw this I was blown away. First I didn't know Elvis could play the guitar! Because on t.v. he always played acoustic and you could never hear him. Here he plays electric in the jam session and has a fantastic blues feel. If you have no idea why Elvis was not a joke but a genuinely great performer this would be a good place to start. What amazes me is how raw the performance is. It was a very very inspired idea to have him just jam in a very loose setting with his friends and fellow musicians. I love the banter and the relaxed feeling. Its as if you've happened to come to a party where Elvis and some friends are playing some music. Unique then and unique (in the era of You Tube and MTV) now.

I was only eight years old when NBC aired the show on December 3rd, 1968! I remember the cable(CATV as it was known back then) was not yet installed at our housing development so my mom(RIP) drove me to my older sister's house because I kept driving her nuts with questions about 'The King' and his music. My sister had also just gotten a brand-new RCA color set..that night I pretty much found out just what a talented performer Elvis Aron Presley was. And being all of eight years old, I thought the black leather pants and jacket he wore were really cool..and oh yeah, all the young women surrounding him near the stage..I still remember it, one of the coolest things about my childhood, seeing that special.

This was without a doubt Elvis's best moment. Bar none. After years of bad movies and bad songs to boot, Elvis takes control in this TV Special. It immediately puts Elvis back on top where he belonged and his competion below his feet where they belonged. Elvis was way too talented as a singer and an actor to do those bad roles and songs. Those films and songs were beneath his dignity. It is nice to see the real Elvis again. From beginning to end this show has you glued to the television set. Five Stars